Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract: Tree Removal Hearing Tomorrow at Board of Public Works

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 3, 2011.  The Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract slope contours are more evident during the winter, when the native California Black Walnuts have dropped their leaves.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Tomorrow, new developers for 2400 Alessandro, the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract, will seek approval from the Board of Public Works to cut down 42 native trees on the 3-acre hillside site.  California Black Walnuts and Coast Live Oak Trees are among the native trees covered by the City's Protected Tree Ordinance # 177404.  This hearing does not cover the other significant sized trees they are cutting down too. 

Click here for the Board of Public Works Agenda. 

Friday September 9, 2011

9:30 AM 

City Hall Room 350

200 N. Spring Street

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 2005.  "Significant" non-native trees, like this pine tree, only have to be replaced on a 1:1 basis with trees that will never reach this size in our lifetimes.  (For scale, the woman in the photo is 6' tall.)  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The site will be cleared of all except 5 trees per the original plan, approved over the appeal of neighbors who were supported by Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in 2009.  The plan identified 60 trees for removal. 

Perhaps the most interesting bit of information to come out of this hearing notice is the Soils Approval Letter, from the Grading Dept of Building & Safety, dated June 23, 2011 (Log #74117).  It drops the condition requiring a stormwater infiltration system.  (Note: This just came to light Wednesday night and has not been researched.)  Considering the steepness of the slope and the removal and recompaction of the entire hillside, this might be questionable.  Hope they plan to improve the storm drain system on Allesandro at Riverside.  We already get mud flows in big rain storms several times a year.

Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract subdivision approved in 2009 requires cutting down all but 5 trees, including those in the slope between the red line and Allesandro.  (Click on photo to enlarge.) 

Historic photo link: 1940 Aerial shot of Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract

*UPDATE 9-9-11: Board of Public Works continued the vote until their September 28 meeting.  The board instructed the developer to reach out to the community.  Read more background and comments on The Eastsider.

Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract: Another Speculator Buys The Turkey

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 3, 2011. The Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract lots destined for 15-home development are roughly outlined and adjacent to the 2 Freeway. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Another speculator intends to build the 15-home small lot subdivision in the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists' Tract. See The Eastsider for the complete story.

Considering the other home developments on the Orange County-based developer's website seem to be on already flat land, it is highly likely we'll see another failed development on this site.

Hillside construction in this corridor has a long Legacy of Failed Development. Let's hope they give up before they start cutting down trees and cutting into the hillside leaving a denuded slope to build slab-on-grade flat pads.
Photo: Diane Edwardson, February 27, 2011. In February, new test pits for soils were dug. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

In 2009, neighbors lost the appeal against the 16-lot subdivision. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy supported the appeal and objected to the plan as it included no mitigations for the well used urban wildlife corridor through the site.

The approved plan calls for complete destruction of all but 5 trees on the lot and a complete reshaping of the hillside. Last month, adjacent neighbors received City notice that an application for grading permits was submitted for the project, which includes considerable earth moving:

6,465 cubic yards of cut
195 cubic yards of fill
15,000 cubic yards of remove & recompacted soil
6,270 cubic yards of export

According to the plan, which calls for 1/3 of the property to be "open space," it is unlikely the open space will ever be functional as it will be a compacted slope. Native plants do not grow in compacted slopes.

Click here for all our Semi-Tropic Spiritualists' Tract posts.

Of course there's the stalled development of single family homes in the Red Car Neighborhood that developers who don't know what they're doing in Hillside construction should consider.

Menlo Property: Public Hearing Today

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 22, 2009. The Menlo Property is about 100 feet from the 5 Freeway. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Due to the Menlo Property's history, as well as convicted slumlord, Sam Menlo & Century Quality Management's track record in the Silver Lake community, community groups and activists are requesting very specific mitigations in conjunction with any approvals by the City Planning Advisory Agency of the zone variance for the existing River Glen Apts and subdivision for 120 condos on the adjacent vacant Menlo Property on Riverside Drive.

Some of the requested mitigations deal with the effects of air pollution from the heavily truck-trafficked 5 Freeway, including upgraded air filtration systems for the existing apartment building.
Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 25, 2009. View from the Menlo Property includes: Riverside Drive, 5 Freeway, power lines, Verdugo & San Gabriel Mountains, Griffith Park, power lines, smog, and if you look closely, the Hyperion Bridge crossing the LA River. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Another requested mitigation is for the developer to build and maintain tree-planted medians in the middle of Riverside Drive between Fletcher and Glendale Blvd. to help clean the air from and provide a visual barrier to the 5 Freeway.

The idea behind tree-planted medians actually dates back to the 1930 Olmsted Plan for connecting Griffith and Elysian Parks with planted medians on Riverside Drive, a designated scenic highway.

Last week, the DWP told CD4 representatives Renee Weitzer and Doug Mensman, that as long as the trees were trimmed as necessary, they would not object to tree-planted medians in this location. (After the tree eradication at the adjacent DWP property a few weeks ago, we requested a specific answer from the DWP on this topic.)

Click here for Public Hearing details.
See all Menlo Property posts.

Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract: Neighbors' Appeal Denied at PLUM

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 7, 2009. Big beetle on the Semi Tropic Spiritalists' Tract proposed Lot 16. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

No surprise here. City Council's PLUM Committee denied neighbors' appeal, despite considerable evidence illustrated with photos and graphics. Wednesday, May 13, 2009 City Council will likely vote to approve the 16-lot subdivision of the 3 Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract Lots since City Councilmember Eric Garcetti did not support the neighbors.

Garcetti's staff supported the additions to the MND by City Planning involving conditions for potential burrowing owl nesting sites and addition of two Grading Dept. memos that have nothing to do with environmental effects.

The developer listed the property for sale as a 16-lot subdivision, back in January, prior to final approval. Once all the trees are cut down and they start cutting into the hillside and abandon the site like so many before them, we can write another chapter in the long Legacy of Failed Development.

Speculator Moves Closer to Dream

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 2004. Semi Tropic lots
slated for subdivision. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Tuesday, the developer trying to subdivide the three 1-acre lots into 16 lots in the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract, moved closer to his goal. The City Council's Planning & Land Use Management Committee (PLUM), chaired by City Councilmember Ed Reyes denied the neighbors appeal.

Councilmember and PLUM Chair Ed Reyes (CD1) seemed perturbed by evidence presented by one neighbor: the developer had already listed the property for sale as "16 lots" as of January 14, 2009. Final approval has not yet been granted and goes to a full City Council vote on February 17, 2009.

In response to issues raised by 10 neighbors who testified at the hearing and the many more who sent email in support of the appeal, Reyes called for a meeting of the "City Family" (CD1, CD13 and City Planning) to ensure the mitigations requested by Councilmember Garcetti (CD13) were adequately addressed in the final decision before going to the full City Council.

Reyes also suggested CD13 staff might need need to review the tree replacement and landscaping requirements. This would be the one positive for neighbors to take away from Tuesday's defeat, since City Planning staff was still citing an outdated oak tree ordinance, even after the East Area Planning Commission instructed Planning staff to cite the correct protected tree ordinance in their decision prior to the neighbors taking the appeal to PLUM.

UPDATE 2-17-09: City Council continued the item until February 25, 2009.

What does a 2:1 compacted slope look like?

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 27. 2009. Menlo Property on Riverside Drive north of Fletcher. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Menlo Property (above) is a good example of a landscaped and maintained, 2:1 compacted fill slope. Even six years since it was landscaped, little grows except ground cover. Only a few trees, planted after the soil compaction, survived. This is what we have to look forward to on the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract if the proposed 16-lot subdivision gains final approvals.

You could use the drainage benches for recreational access, but you better be awfully fit as they are steeper than they look.

Would it really be an improvement over the natural hillside as it looks from Corralitas Drive, Lake View Ave. and Silver Ridge Ave.? (See photo below.)


Photo: Diane Edwardson. Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract as seen from Corralitas Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Idyllic Open Space Endangered

Photo: Diane Edwardson, 2004. Native California black walnut woodland thrives in the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Just because the City's Grading Dept. approves a plan, does not make it an environmentally sound plan.

The plateau (above photo) along with the downslope (to the right in the photo) containing California black walnut woodland within the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract will be eradicated if a developer's plan to subdivide and sell a 16-lot subdivision (15 homes and one "open space lot") gains final approval by the City Council.

The developer led the community to believe we would be gaining the upper plateau as open space, accessible to the public. However, the developer's grading plan calls for the removal of the entire upper plateau and slope below containing a thriving California black walnut woodland.

Community leaders reluctantly leaned toward the compromise, until they learned (after the close of public comment in December 2007) the slope and plateau would be removed and compacted 2:1, creating a steep, inaccessible slope. Native trees do not grow in compacted slopes. Plus, removal of the plateau would result in no functional park space.

While the developer maintained he would landscape the "open space lot," it is unlikely much would grow on the site. (But then, the developer is not going to build anything; just subdivide and sell.) For an example of a compacted 2:1 slope, see the Menlo Property on Riverside Drive north of Fletcher (the vacant lot between Home Restaurant and the River Glen Apartments).

Semi Tropic Hell

Photo: Diane Edwardson. Future site for 15 homes?
(Click on photo to enlarge.)

A developer wants subdivide and sell the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract 3-acre site as a 16-lot subdivision. If approved, almost all of the trees will be cut down and the entire hillside site graded. The "open space lot," lot 16, would be graded and compacted into a 2:1, non-functional slope, even though the developer only plans for homes on the lower portion of the site.

The neighbors learned of the developer's grading plan AFTER the close of public comment in December 2007. The grading plan was approved by the Grading Division of Los Angeles Dept. of Building & Safety in March 2007, but the approval letter was missing from the City Planning case file until a neighbor provided it to the City Planning staff (per staff request) in February 2008.

The public was denied due process since the most important environmental factors, the grading and tree loss, were not made public nor evaluated properly under CEQA.

While anything built on the site should be safe and to current grading standards, the neighbors think the loss of so many mature and native trees combined with a complete reshaping of the hillside is too high a price to pay, especially since the developer has no intention of actually building the site himself.

The neighbors will make their appeal to the City Council Planning & Land Use Management Committee next week:

PLUM
Tues Feb 3, 2009
2pm
City Hall, Room 350

City Council File: CF-09-0082
APCE 2006-8787-ZC
VTT 62900-SL-2A
CD13

Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract Cut in 1905

Photo: Diane Edwardson, 2005. Modjeska Street entrance to Elysian Park from the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

We're reviewing the photographic history of our neighborhood surrounding the 2 Freeway, in anticipation of the EIR for the 2 Freeway Terminus Project.

Unfortunately, we have no neighbors' photos from the early days of the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract, other than when it appeared in the background of photos posted earlier. However, the 1905 Articles of Incorporation for the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Association shed some light on the the design of the tract.

The Articles of Incorporation clearly state the purpose of the Association was "to acquire, operate and maintain permanent camp grounds in the County of Los Angeles." (In 1905, the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract was just outside Los Angeles City limits.) The purpose of such campgrounds was to hold meetings "devoted to the maintenance and spreading of the religion of Modern Spiritualism, its philosophy and its phenomena."

They designed the tract so there were hundreds of tiny lots subdivided and sold to their members. The tiny lots surrounded one large central lot for camping, meetings, "mediums," lectures and concerts. The typical lot size within the tract is 2500 sq. ft., with some as small as 600 sq. ft., surrounding the 3 acre lot in the center.

The large 3 acre parcel was later subdivided into 3 lots in the 1970s. In the 1980s, even though a series of engineers disappeared in the process, City Planning approved a zone change for 30 units, now since expired.

Currently, a developer is attempting to subdivide the 3 lots into 16 lots, which would require cutting down almost every tree on the parcel and removal and grading of 95% of the slope. Neighbors are currently appealing the approval by City Planning.

1922: Infrastructure Already an Issue

Photo: Hunter Terrace Elysian Gardens Real Estate Brochure, excerpt, 1922. Photo on the right cannot be duplicated without stopping in the middle of the 2 Freeway, so here's a link to a close approximation. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Hunter Terrace brochure proclaims, "Big improvements are under way and contemplated, both on Allesandro Street and Riverside Drive...and there is every assurance that in a short time there will be a viaduct spanning the river at Allesandro Street." No such viaduct was ever built at Allesandro.

By 1955, the State declared eminent domain and bought out homeowners in the area for construction of the 2 and 5 Freeways.

Perhaps the most telling line of the brochure is, "Los Angeles is now estimated to have a population of over 800,000. Transportation facilities are not keeping up with its rapid growth - buy where you have good car service."

October is 2 Freeway Month

Photo: Hunter Terrace - Elysian Gardens real estate brochure, 1922. Shot from Corralitas Drive, looking south toward Glendale Blvd. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The freeways so dominate the landscape of our neighborhood. We are grateful to the neighbors who had the forethought to take photos and save brochures of what the area looked like before and during construction of the freeways. In 1922, there were still a few remnants of the forest cut down for subdivision of the Asa Hunter Estate. (See tract map below from 1912.)

Map: Plate 42, Baist's Atlas, Surveys of Los Angeles, G.W. Baist, 1912.
(Click on map to enlarge.)

Corralitas Public Staircases, 1922

Map: Hunter Terrace, Elysian Gardens real estate brochure, 1922. (Click on map to enlarge.)

The Corralitas Public Staircase appeared in the original real estate brochure for the neighborhood. Corralitas Drive is the @-shaped street in the above map. Click on the map to see the two short spurs coming off the lower part of Corralitas, indicating the public staircases built for easy access to the Red Car Trolley.

Semi-Tropic Spiritualists’ Tract Development Update 1-20-07

Photo: Edwardson, Semi-Tropic Spiritualists’ Tract

Future site of 14 homes?

January 20, 2007 -- City Councilmember Eric Garcetti’s staff hosted a community meeting with the developer of the Semi-Tropic Spiritualists’ Tract Garden Lots. Link to current area map: http://redcarproperty.blogspot.com/2007/01/development-alert.html

Subdivisions and zone changes go through a discretionary process in City Planning. Under CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), the public has the right (and responsibility) to comment, in writing or in person, on the development’s impacts. The developer has filed for subdivision with City Planning. Currently, a public hearing has not yet been scheduled.

The three 1-acre lots (currently zoned R-1 for single family homes) were once a large garden for the tract of primarily 2,500 sq ft lots. The current development proposal is a “small-lot subdivision” into 14 lots: each lot between 3,000 – 6,000 sq ft, grouped around a private driveway from El Moran near Allesandro Ave., plus a large “open space lot” on the upper portion closest to El Moran and Peru St.

Small-lot subdivision is a new form of development allowing developers to subdivide into lots as small as 2,500 sq. ft. (City standard lots are 5,000 sq. ft.), with homes as close as 2 inches apart.

Citing the house fire two nights earlier on Baxter St., neighbors expressed concern regarding small lot subdivision in hillside areas. Since small-lot subdivision is a new program, the LAFD has yet to weigh in on how it should be implemented in hillside areas. Neighbors also wanted to know if the new development would be subject to “Red Flag Days - No Parking,” like many of the neighborhood’s streets.

While the developer stated it was not a gated community, many neighbors pointed out that it looks like one, and would be easy to gate, especially once the new residents saw the area homeless population.

The developer did not supply adequate before and after drawings of the hillside to evaluate the amount of grading that would take place with the proposed development. Although, the developer’s engineer stated it would be more than 6,000 cubic yards of cut (earth to be removed and recompacted or removed entirely from the site).

The development also shows 14 large flat rooftops visible from much of the neighborhood. Neighbors currently have a view of natural beauty of the hillside. With small-lot subdivision, where homes are closer together than on standard hillside lots, it would seem appropriate and desirable to have functional rooftop amenities like rooftop gardens and patios, or at least incorporate design elements into the rooftops as a fifth elevation.

While the developer stated he would be leaving a substantial portion of the upper lot as an “open space lot,” he has yet to contact a park agency, like the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, regarding either dedication or donation for public open space. Additionally, without public access from Allesandro through the development to the open space lot, it would not be usable open space for the community.

Above: 1912 Baist's Atlas, Surveys of Los Angeles, G.W. Baist

Andrew Sears, president of the Committee to Save Silver Lake’s Reservoirs writes to Councilmember Garcetti:

“What is needed is a holistic approach, creating connectivity between the 18-acre Elysian Park annex and the Corralitas Red Car Corridor. Now is our last chance to ensure that our parks, new and old, are connected and walkable. This connection, if properly implemented will protect the Rim of the Valley Equestrian Trail easement, and further the visionary concept of connecting Elysian Park with the LA River at Fletcher. Such a trail system, a long-term dream of the community, has been cited in the LA River Master Plan, and will help to improve the severely limited open space problems we have in the district.”

Sears continues, “Public access needs to be ensured through the proposed developed lot to allow for a pedestrian/equestrian friendly path between Allesandro and the Reserved Open Space above the lot. By 'friendly,' I mean at a grade suitable for horses and people on foot. As planned, the grade is extremely steep and in most areas is supported by retaining walls up to 13’. The failure to preserve that corridor will seal the fate of any hope for connected parks in the Silver Lake/Elysian/LA River area.”

The overwhelming reaction at the meeting to the developer’s plan was negative. While it is better than the earlier plan to regrade the entire hillside, it still has a long way to go before becoming acceptable to this community. Funds for outright acquisition of the lots by a park agency are limited. It is not unreasonable to expect a developer to work with the community toward an acceptable solution to both sides. The developer wants a discretionary action from the city to build his project. In return for added density and effects on the surrounding community; neighbors should insist on specific mitigations if the City grants subdivision and zone change, increasing the value of the developer's property.

Garcetti’s staff suggested the developer and the community work out their differences before this proposal goes to public hearing. No date for a hearing has been set. Garcetti’s staff will be taking our comments into their discussions about the Semi-Tropic Spiritualist’s Tract.

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Development History

Photo: Title Insurance & Trust Co., C.C. Pierce Photography, 1905 Pacific Electric Glendale Line looking north toward Glendale. Corralitas is the hill to the right of the tracks. (Click on photo to enlarge)

The Corralitas Red Car Property was a private right-of-way for the Pacific Electric interurban streetcar. The “Big Red Cars” ran until 1955.

Since 1955, a series of absentee owners have neglected the five lots. For more than 25 years, a series of developers tried and failed to develop the Corralitas Red Car Property. Even when successful in securing a zone change, developers repeatedly failed to build on the site.

The property consists of five large lots on more than 10-acres, approximately one mile in length, zoned R2 (one duplex per lot).

1896 Los Angeles Railway Local Edendale Line extends through a private right-of-way to Ivanhoe Hills, terminus at Fletcher, a dirt road near the Los Angeles River.

1904 Fletcher Drive Red Car Viaduct constructed for the Glendale Line. Pacific Electric officially opened the Glendale Line in 1906; bringing real estate speculation to the areas surrounding rail lines.

1922 “Hunter Terrace” subdivision, formerly the Asa Hunter Estate, advertised for sale. Subdivision brochure advertised lots for sale to the east of the Red Car Property: around Allesandro Elementary School, Corralitas Drive and Elysian Valley (Elysian Gardens subdivision). Brochure touts the proximity to the Red Car as a key selling point.

1924-28 Area streets paved for the first time. 1927: center span of the Fletcher Red Car Viaduct replaced with steel accommodating the paving and lowering of Fletcher Drive. The bridge was now 61’ above the roadbed.

1955 Glendale Line decommissioned, right-of-way removed from public service, property remained in private hands. Red Car tracks removed, but the viaduct remained on the hillside above Riverside and Fletcher Drives.

1959 Fletcher Viaduct and Riverside Drive Viaduct (at Glendale Blvd) torn down, 4 years after the last Red Car Trolley ran on the Glendale Line.

1960 Homes torn down via eminent domain for freeway construction on area streets. The Glendale (2) Freeway soon cut off Corralitas Drive from the community, leaving only one means of vehicle access through Rosebud Ave.  Considerable amount of earth removed from the Red Car Property for freeway construction. Later, the leftover dirt was dumped back onto surrounding large vacant lots, such as the Red Car Property.

1962 Glendale Freeway opens.

1981 Zone change approved (against Fire Dept. recommendations) 2433 Corralitas Drive (southern 2 lots of Red Car Property) from R2 (one duplex) to RD4 (40 Units). City Councilmember Peggy Stevenson did not support community opposition. *

* Zone change granted before adoption of the Silver Lake-Echo Park Community Plan in 1984, so it was not based on any official plan for the area.

1984 Zone change expired; property again zoned R2.

1987 City Council approved incorporation of an equestrian trail into any development of the site in keeping with the Silver Lake-Echo Park Community Plan.

1987 Zone change on 2433 Corralitas Drive for 40 units again approved against Fire Dept. recommendations. City Councilmember Mike Woo did not support community opposition.

1989 Extension for zone change approved against community opposition. Fire Dept. again objected and a provision added: the project limited to 25 units if a secondary access could not be provided.

1990 Zone change expired; property again zoned R2.

1995 City Planning Commission, by unanimous vote, defeats developer’s 40-unit zone change application. Community well organized; now represented and supported by City Councilmember Jackie Goldberg.

1996 Developer, in a large community meeting organized by Goldberg’s office, presented a vague notion that he might want to build 40 houses on the property. Community told him to come back with a specific plan.

1997 At a large community meeting hosted by Goldberg at Allesandro Elementary School, the community voted to back residents’ plan to: form a non-profit organization, Community Resident’s Association for Parks; partner with Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy; apply for ’92 Prop A competitive funds to purchase the Red Car Property; create a passive-use park on the entire site.

1997 Partnership did not receive funding.

1997 Developer purchases the 5 lots for $110,000 (public record).

1998 Developer applies for 12-lot subdivision, with a 7-acre dedication/donation to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. A maintenance fee would be assessed annually on the new lots to pay for park upkeep.

1999 Application tentatively approved by City Planning for 12-lot subdivision, pending approval from grading department.

2000 Developer notifies community that he is putting the property up for sale for $500,000. Subdivision not economically feasible. Subdivision never approved, property remains 5 lots, zoned R2.

2001 Developer purchases the 10-acre Corralitas Red Car property for between $300,000 and $400,000 (public records).

2001 Community Residents’ Association for Parks and Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy submits application for Prop A funding. $320,000 application approved by County Supervisor Gloria Molina as a link to the Los Angeles River. SMMC allocates additional funds to the project.

2001 At a meeting hosted by City Councilmember Eric Garcetti, developer notifies community of intent to file for subdivision of the 5 lots of Corralitas Red Car Property into a large number of lots: including 31 single family homes, 21 duplexes and a number of vacant lots to be offered for sale. City Councilmember Garcetti supports overwhelming community opposition to the plan; wants the site as a park.

2001 Mayor James Hahn accepts more than 500 letters and drawings from students at Allesandro Elementary and Rose Scharlin Pre-school. Mayor Hahn joins Garcetti stating, “Keep the Red Car Green!”

2002-03 Connect the Parks…Connecting Communities, a study linking parks, recreational facilities and schools with pedestrian friendly paths between Elysian Park, the Red Car Property and the Los Angeles River; published by Community Residents’ Association for Parks, with a grant from Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, administered by North East Trees.

2003 Developer does not respond to Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy offer for the Red Car Property. In the interim, developer submits application to City Planning for 75 homes, almost a mile of roadways and two miles of retaining walls and one small open space lot consisting of unusable slope.

2003 City Planning advises developer to revise and resubmit plans due to concerns from Departments of Transportation, Engineering, Zoning and Fire.

2003 City Council approves Los Angeles Cultural Historic Landmark status for the Fletcher Red Car Trestle Footings. Application was submitted earlier in the year by City Councilmember Garcetti to the Los Angeles Dept. of Cultural Heritage.

2004 Bureau of Engineering recommends disapproval of  75-home subdivision.

2005 Record rains reveal the extent of the Adelbert Landslide Zone on the north portion of the Red Car Property.

2005 Another developer drops plans for the Red Car Property after just four months on board. The property remains 5 lots zoned R2.

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